11 business lessons I'd love to share

On my amazing journey of entrepreneurship and self discovery I have failed over and over again and I have learnt some incredibly valuable lessons. Most have involved some sort of pain as I have had to experience them to extract the lessons (a justification could be that I’m an experiential learner). The university of life has been a cruel teacher but I can now see that every lesson has been worth it, contributing to the person that I am today.

Some of my deepest learnings have been through business, mostly in the early days but each week brings a new challenge. Most of them simple and now blatantly obvious but at certain stages of my career, not so apparent.

Today, I would like to write about them, in the hope that someone, somewhere can extract a lesson from my ramblings and save themselves some pain.

“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.” 

 ― C. JoyBell C.

#1 Pay bills on time. Early if you can.

Relationships are the basis of good business. Just like your customers, your creditors are one of your most powerful marketing tools. Good or bad, they will speak about you. Regardless of your financial position and money owed from your debtors, treat your suppliers with respect and go out of your way to pay them promptly. You will gain respect back and more importantly will receive priority status when you call on them for support.

Credit terms are great, but getting into the habit of paying creditors quicker than necessary will have positive impacts on your finances and your service delivery. If you can’t manage this, then it’s maybe time to question the viability of your business long term.

#2 Customers are not always right.

Contrary to popular paraphrasing, customers aren’t always right. Think of the last time you went to a restaurant, a good restaurant, one that you regularly like to attend. You know the food is great and that the owners and staff are dedicated, you even know the chef. Opposite you see a customer complaining, asking for a free meal, causing a scene and threatening a terrible, business crushing, trip advisor review. You know that either A. the customer is chancing their luck for a cheap meal or B. They have had an unfortunate experience likely the result of the chef having an unintentional bad day.

The question then is not whether or not the customer is right but instead are you 100% confident in the value proposition, authenticity and passion that runs through your whole business? If the answer is yes, then you will have the conviction to be able to deal with the occasional disgruntled customer, accept responsibility where necessary and stand your ground when the customer isn’t right.

#3 Saying “NO” is your most valuable asset.

Say no to 9/10 opportunities. Say no to interruptions. Say no to distractions. Hone your time, energy and attention to the activities that will derive the highest return on your investment. In your business and your personal life. Do this and watch your world transform.

#4 Lack of self belief is your only limit.

For the first 6 years of my 8 year entrepreneurial journey I sold myself short. I missed out on countless deals, growth opportunities & income potential because deep down I didn’t feel I deserved it. Self-sabotage will crush your potential, it will zap any opportunity from your grasp, if you allow it. Listen to your thoughts the next time you have a “big opportunity” coming up and challenge the hell out of them. Try saying “I deserve this” instead of “I don’t”. Try saying “Look at how far you have come” instead of “I lack the experience”. You limit You. Change it.

#5 Don’t personally guarantee anything.

Start up 101. This makes me a dip shit.

Don’t personally guarantee an opportunity until you know that you are fully committed and that you have a viable business. Out of sheer naivety and eagerness for growth I personally guaranteed debt on assets. Five years later I am still paying back the collateral.

Personal investment is great, it adds substance to your business, shows your commitment and outside investors find it attractive, but please be sensible and think it through first. It could have saved me ￡30,000 in the early day’s.

#6 Cash flow is actually king. Believe it.

Two years in to my first business adventure it was cash positive, circa ￡250,000 turnover and turning a profit. However I was caught up in the start up / tech boom throwing words like “scale” & “sell out” around like they were relevant to me. They were cool and trendy but they were NOT relevant to me. I had a service based business, my ambition was not global, but local.

At the time, like a lot of other people in my circles, I believed external finance were the solution to my problems. Consciously I moved my attention from cash flow to finance raising and from bank balance to overdraft limit. I got so caught up in the pursuit of growth that I chose to ignore the basics.

The moment cash flow & cost control weren’t my main priority was the moment my business started the downward spiral towards failure.

Don’t roll your eyes the next time an advisor uses the cliché line “Cash flow is king”.

#7 Influential people are busy. Have something to offer them.

Mentors. Investors. Non-exec directors. Anyone worth having help from will be busy, they will be successful. Yes they will understand your position and have likely been in your shoes. There will be a part of them that wants to offer help, they have empathy. However they have demands on their time and energy, they will treat you just like any business opportunity and there will need to be something in it for them.

Need a mentor that’s an industry influencer? Don’t go all in with the first email and ask Bill Gates for a skype call, twice a week for the next year. Instead consider what you can offer in return. “But I don’t have anything to offer” you say. Well, It’s all relative.

Make assumptions that they are incredibly busy and send a short email explaining you understand they their time limitations and ask for one piece of very specific support, in return offering whatever value you can. For example;

“Dear…., I understand that you are incredibly busy, When researching influencers in the industry that I am launching my product in, you were mentioned the most. My product…… requires a powerful go to market strategy to outrun competitors. I understand that it may be too much to ask to discuss this in person, perhaps you would be willing to put me in touch with one of your trusted market strategy advisors instead? It would be a huge contributing factor in our race to be first to market.

In return I wondered if you would like to be a guest on my industry podcast? It has 10,000 listeners all of whom would be blown away to hear from such a highly regarded influencer like yourself.

Thanks in advance, Lee”

The later example may not work, you may not get a response, but it has a much higher chance of success than the former.

People want to help you, often you just need to meet them half way.

#8 Awards mean nothing.

In the start up world, people are obsessed with awards. “Entrepreneur of the year” “Best business 2018” “Influencer of the month”. Awards give you Kudos, and recognition in your industry and that’s great (For the Ego). But at start up level they are nonsense and in my experience distract your attention. Where you should be working to find your next customer, instead, you find yourself completing 10 page application forms and endless spreadsheets to get nominated for awards. You find yourself chasing them down.

Here’s something interesting. The month my first business received “High growth business of the year” was the same month that business folded.

Flip the thinking. Work hard and awards will come knocking on your door in time.

#9 Your company does not define you.

You should care deeply about the success of your business. If you don’t then you are not passionate about what you are doing. However, there is life beyond the business. You have more to offer!

I let my first business consume me. I damaged countless relationship because of it and before I knew it I had no business and no relationships. That’s a lonely place to be.

What about me as a partner, a keen golfer, a creative thinker, a son, a traveller and much, much more?

Don’t miss out on amazing life moments by confining yourself to your business.

#9 Mental health issues are common, but no one speaks about it.

According to one study I have spoken about in previous articles, over 30% of entrepreneurs struggle with mental health challenges. But what I found is that no one speaks about it. In the circles I found myself networking in, everyone was painting a rosy picture, almost holding a false mask up. This was really detrimental to my early experiences of entrepreneurship.

Don’t let it fool you. If you are struggling, a high percentage of business owners are too. The best thing you can do is be authentic and open. Find reliable people to confide in. It will be a weight off your shoulders. Don’t wear a mask. Authenticity will make you more powerful and effective in your endeavours.

#10 Negotiate hard. Know your worth.

Business is harsh. Business negotiations are harsher. One of the realities of entrepreneurship is that partnerships with founders, investors, customers and an abundance of other stakeholders will always reach an inevitable inflection point and you will have to negotiate.

These negotiations will be a steep learning curve. You may not be the hardened business person you need to be to get what you deserve from a trade, but you sure as hell will need to assume that persona to avoid getting the short end of the stick, and that act is going to be mentally and physically draining on you!

It’s important that you set your own perimeters and expectations of a negotiation. Go in prepared and stick to your guns.

Know your worth and it will pay dividends.

Most importantly, practice your pitches. Confidence in negotiation is a skill and skills can be developed.

#11 Being at the top is lonely.

I generally strive to be liked by everyone. I quickly realised early on in business that it is almost impossible to develop meaningful friendships as the “boss”. Regardless of how close your team is, or how friendly you are with your customers, when the shit hits the fan you are the boss and the person responsible for all issues. This was a hard-hitting reality for me. Having avoided engaging in meaningful relationships outside of my business, because hey, I don’t have the time for that, I thought I had developed meaningful friendships within my business life.

Don’t get me wrong I have great, fulfilling relationships with colleagues and customers but I have learnt to be realistic.

When the shit does hit the fan, which it does, I am responsible for all the mess ups. Regardless of who caused them I am 100% responsible and must own them completely. There is no one to blame but me. I’ve got to suck it up and be seen to be in complete control, I must fix it in silence and there is a high probability that no one cares as much as me about the problem at hand. This is a tough reality to face, a lonely one at that!

Thank you for reading.